Prior to announcing his intent not to seek reelection, Speaker Bonnen was recorded talking about making it illegal for state and local governments to deduct union dues from the paychecks of government employees – with the exception of police and fire unions. This is a political strategy to weaken unions, that has been used by elected officials who want to privatize public services and dismantle our pensions to enrich themselves and their friends. Speaker Bonnen and the backroom recording made it clear- they want organized state employees and retirees out of the way, because we influence elections and hold elected officials accountable.
Attacks on our freedom to pay TSEU union dues from our paychecks isn’t new. During the previous three legislative sessions (two regular sessions and one special), TSEU members have had to fight off intense attacks on our right to organize a strong union. Once in 2015 and twice in 2017, our union was forced to put time, energy, and resources into stopping bills that would have barred state workers from joining our union through payroll deduction of membership dues. As a member-driven organization entirely funded by member dues, the union had no choice but to put the maximum effort into fighting off these attacks.
By organizing and mobilizing thousands of state workers into action to defend our rights and by working in coalition with other labor unions, TSEU was victorious in winning each of these battles. It was a very close call each time, and we should all hold our heads high for the work we did in stopping these attacks.
However, as you can see, politicians and their big-money backers who have aligned against us in the past are not going away. They are setting their sights on the upcoming elections and beyond, planning their strategy for the next legislative session where they hope to break TSEU. We will be there to fight them and their agenda every step of the way. But each time we are forced to scramble and fight to protect dues deduction we are losing ground on other critical issues.
A bigger, more politically involved TSEU is the worst nightmare for politicians like Speaker Bonnen and backroom schemers. With a bigger union, and more members we have ready to keep TSEU alive & kicking- we put power in the hands of the people instead of crooked politicians and their patrons. Join COPE, make TSEU Unbreakable, Today!
